Rocking in Hakata

This was so weird, it really deserved its own post. No but(t)s about it. I went to a restaurant in Taipei called 便所主题餐厅 in Chinese, or “Modern Toilet” in English. It is exactly what it claims to be. A restaurant themed entirely around toilets and other bathroom fixtures. You can visit the official English site here or the official Japanese version here. Here’s a quick video that I whipped up.

Here are the stills from the video clip again. Ha ha.

It was an interesting experience all around. All of the tables are converted plumbing fixtures, most surfaces are tiled, the dishes are all special ceramic novelties, and the real bathrooms are relatively difficult to find thanks to their inadvertent camouflage. Ha ha. Specialty teas come in urinal cups, but you can purchase a take-home pee bottle to go. while I’m sure it was, I actually found it hard to feel like the place was properly sterilized / clean. Kinda makes sense, I guess.

The main dishes in the toilet bowls were great. (I actually realized that the bowls are self-contained chafing pots when I watched this video! You can see a little bit of flame under the lip of one of them.) I had the Thai curry and made a bad poo joke about how my meal won the prize for resembling its eventual end state. Oh,come on, dining in a place like that you can’t help but make a few bad poo jokes. Don’t judge me.

The sides that come with the main dishes were really lousy. I didn’t bother finishing anything but the rice and curry from my main dish. The included soft serve at the end was similarly disappointing – and not only because it wasn’t solid chocolate to complete the effect. It’s also non-dairy and you can really tell. It’s super watery and doesn’t really taste of chocolate or vanilla…or anything else, actually. That’s probably due to the fact that they offer monstrous portions in their desserts. I saw a few parfait/sundae frankenstein bowls pass by us, and I’m telling you, you’d need a hungry soccer team to kill one off. No wonder they don’t use quality stuff – they’re going for quantity. It’s all part of the spectacle of the thing. Having said that, the fries were freaking amazing. Worth your time? Sure, it’s a restaurant themed for the bathroom! Take the chance when you get it. After all, when nature calls…

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I loved Nicktoons when I was younger. Doug was definitely at the top of the list. I was re-watching it for the nostalgia recently, when I came across this scene in episode 8 of the first season. The episode’s titled “Doug on the Wild Side.” In it, his crazy grandmother comes to visit and gives him a few carpe diem type life lessons. One of the things Doug conquers before the end of the episode is sushi. It’s a really weird first experience for a lot of people, and I thought this was a great cartoonized version of a real encounter. This aired before I was even really aware of sushi – definitely before the big sushi boom got to the east coast of the US. It’s sort of funny to see how they attempt to represent a Japanese restaurant, too. Ha ha. Crazy how dated this looks, too. I’m so old!!

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Well, at least I thought it would be a box. But now I’m seeing all kinds of different shapes, colors, and options. What is a good, solid starter set up? I’m thinking about maybe buying the setup pictured above from Amazon.co.jp and having it delivered, C.O.D., but I thought I’d ask around a bit first. (And try to think of anything else to add to an Amazon order before making it.)

Cooking for one person is really aggravating, you see. Everything I make comes out in portions meant for 2 people or more. I tend to eat it all in one go anyway… This bad habit has led to weight gain. I want to reverse the pudge, and portion control is one way to do that. If I was capable of cooking and putting my leftovers into the little containers of a bento box for lunch the next day, I think it’d help. I read up on how to choose a bento size on this page, and I’m left thinking that the neat looking manly-man lunch jar above is…huge. So. I’m asking for advice. I’m not aiming at making super cutesy food yet – just providing myself with a stable, healthy lunch and controlled portions. I think even Pikko started out using bentos for health. Hope I get some words of wisdom! Help me!

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Valentine’s Day was last Saturday, but I got my first (and only) giri-choco yesterday. One of my English teachers at my base school gave it to me. Very thoughtful of her. Little did she know that in lieu of honmei-choco this year, I received 2 dress shirts and a tie – a much finer gift than chocolates if I do say so myself. But the gesture is appreciated. It’s always nice to be remembered! Ha ha.

Also, Claytonian recently posted a video on YouTube to which I made my first ever video response. Both videos are in Japanese, folks. Sorry! I’ll follow Clay’s lead and subtitle the Japanese with annotations after the fact. Cheers!

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I got a care package today! It had some nice warm socks, some pajama pants, some American deodorant, some shelf-stable bacon, a card, and….Peeps. Peeps? Peeps. Strawberry Creme Hearts and Chocolate Mousse Bears, to be specific. (Who knew they did flavors and non-animals now? Or that the website would have questionable background music?) Yup. My mom, the best mom in the world, who also happens to read this blog, clearly thinks I’m someone else. Someone who eats Peeps. (I did enjoy microwaving them once.) It’s cool – I’ll use them as prizes in class. Oh, I can’t wait to see their faces fall once they bite into their prize…and realize it’s not how they thought it’d be. Ha ha. I already made them try root beer this week after a trip to an import store during my 40 minute transfer in Okayama on the way home from Tottori. I love my job. (But…for the record…I don’t love Peeps…) And in case anyone’s keeping score, this package is still a 100% success. I mean, bacon, guys. What else is there, really?

Oh – and if you’re curious why you got a quick and easy blog post today, here’s why.

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Ah, peanut butter. That amazing American condiment / food. One of few peanut related things not invented by George Washington Carver, it has given delectable sustenance to countless people. According to some fans, it’s even a staple in 75% of American homes. And it does indeed exist in Japan – it just might not look the same. Or spread the same. Or taste the same. Or even be called by the same name. But it’s here. And I’ll introduce you to its more common varieties.

I went to my local grocery store and picked up the common Japanese peanut butter-ish products. You can see them in the photo above. Clockwise around the plate from bottom left: ピーナッツホイップ (Peanuts Whip), ピーナッツソフト (Peanuts Soft), Skippy (American-style Peanut Butter*), ピーナッツクリーム (Peanuts Cream), and ピーナッツランチパック (Peanuts Lunch Pack). I’ve done a video review of these products available both on this page and on YouTube. (First video! Go me!) * – American-style IS available in Japanese brands, too! Have no fear!

You can see a closeup of the 4 spreads below. The color differences are interesting, and they actually do reflect the depth of taste in each product, in my opinion. If you’ve ever tried these peanutty wonders, feel free to comment below. Do you agree with my review? Vehemently disagree? Let me know!

Needless to say, the American-style Skippy is my favorite. (But don’t think I’m just a shill for Skippy. I’d take JIF, Peter Pan, or generic American-style PB. Just not Reese’s – the stuff is meant to be in candy, not sandwiches.) Yum! In a pinch, I’d go with the Peanut Soft. This might be because my first experience with Japanese peanut spreads was with Peanut Soft. My poor host mom watched me as I tried to gleefully consume a peanut butter sandwich after discovering that the peanut butter…wasn’t. Ha ha. Once I got used to it I just kept on going with it. It’s not that bad, really.

If you’re one of those folks who really likes to get into the spirit of foods you love, you might enjoy making your own peanut butter. And to that end, I’ve embedded another video here. That’s right, it’s a peanut butter bonus round!

The clip above is from Season 11, Episode 9 of Good Eats, titled “Peanut Gallery.” It features host Alton Brown, one of my TV heroes, making his super-simple recipe for homemade peanut butter.

This post is my entry for the February 2009 Japan Blog Matsuri. The theme is Foreign Food. Thanks for reading! Subscribe to my RSS feed if you liked it, and consider hitting one of the social buttons, too!

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